UNION GROVE — Callen's, situated along Main Street in Union Grove, dates back to the 1940s but has been closed since 2010. Now, Andrea Rafel can be found spending hours at the diner, working to bring the restaurant back to life.
"It is a labor of love, but I wouldn't have it any other way," Rafel said.
Rafel and her husband, Travis Cadd, both born and raised in Union Grove, bought the restaurant in November.
"He said, 'What do you want to do?' And this came up for sale. It was probably a day later. And I was like, 'This is what I want to do,'" Rafel said.
Now, she estimates she spends about six to 10 hours a day working on projects related to Callen's, an effort to both honor Union Grove's past and offer a sense of togetherness for the community moving forward.
"We really need this, and people want simpler times back. And I think that this is the best way to bring that to this town and this community," Rafel said.
WATCH: Local woman working to restore, reopen historic diner in downtown Union Grove
It's a place that many people in Union Grove have memories of, visiting with their grandparents or grabbing a burger after school, including Rafel.
"They want those memories, and I want them to be able to relive them here. But also bring their kids so that they'll have new memories as well," Rafel said.
For Rafel, prioritizing restoration and using what was left behind when the diner closed is part of bringing those memories back to life.
"So the pick tickets, the plates, also the grease, everything was left behind exactly as it was that day," Rafel said.
The restoration efforts have gained significant attention online, with 15,000 people following their journey on Facebook. The attention started with a single video.
"Within hours, it just went to like 500,000 views, and then we were at 900,000 views, and there were people from Sweden, Australia...," Rafel said.
The restoration process includes cleaning and repairing original stools and chairs, restoring doors and doorknobs, and lots of scrubbing grease.
Once open, diners can expect to be served with the same plates and glasses that were there the last time Callen's was open.
"I think it's really important. I mean, are they a little beat up? Yeah. But are they nostalgic and perfect because they're that way? Yes," Rafel said.
With projects like redoing the flooring, the ceiling, and the lighting yet to be done, Rafel hopes to open this coming fall.
"It's important to the community, which makes it important to us," Rafel said.
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